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Do what is right and in time, you would be recognised for it as is the case with veteran athletic trainer Dr Rene Revis Shingles. The 30-year veteran was just inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA).
With this honour bestowed upon her, Shingles becomes the first African American woman to make the hall of fame.
“While I may be the first, my goal is to ensure that I am not the last. Being an athletic trainer is about providing the highest quality of care to our patients and a tireless dedication to learning, growing and serving. That is what has been bestowed to me by my mentors, and what I hope to continue to contribute to the generations that follow,” said Shingles during her award acceptance speech.
Speaking of the award later on, she said: “After the ceremony, many of the African American men and women who were present serenaded me. They sang ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ which is the national Negro anthem and that was unbelievably special. It moved me to tears because it tied both my culture as well as my career achievements together.”
Shingles holds a degree in physical and health education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s in physical education from Illinois State University and a PhD in kinesiology from Michigan State University. She is also a founding member of the NATA Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee (EDAC) to the NATA board of directors. This special interest group identifies and addresses the unique issues and/or obstacles faced by ethnically diverse populations within the athletic training profession.
In her portfolio is authoring the first book on cultural competence in the athletic training field, serving as medical staff for the Michigan State Summer Special Olympics Games, being one, in 1987, of the first set of (13th) black women to be certified athletic trainers.
In 1996, she was identified by the United States Olympic Committee to serve as a trainer for that year’s games in Atlanta, Georgia.
She currently serves as a professor, program director, and internship coordinator for the School of Rehabilitation and Medical Sciences at Central Michigan University where she has taught and continuously acquired additional responsibilities since 1992.
Congratulations, Dr Shingles for this historic moment.!
